Western, Minnesota
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Western Township. It lies in ZIP code area 56537. The Survey maps it on the Orwell Lake quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 9 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1910 USGS Wendell quadrangle1:62500
- 1913 USGS Wendell quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Orwell Lake quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Wahpeton quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
6 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Western between 1998 and 2020, burning about 183 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 1 May 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7.0 acres | Fergus Falls Wetland Management District | LIGHTINING LAKE |
| 3 April 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 21 April 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Fergus Falls Wetland Management District | STONY BROOK (BARN) |
| 28 March 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 acres | Fergus Falls Wetland Management District | GRADY MANN |
| 26 March 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8.0 acres | Fergus Falls Wetland Management District | LILLEMOEN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
15 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Western in 15 storm reports between 2001 and 2022: 7 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Western | $500,000 | Several large oak trees were snapped across the northern half of Western Township. A wide snarl was evident, indicating a weak embedded circulation in an otherwise downburst pattern. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Western | - | Roofing was torn off of a hay shed, two roadside power poles were snapped, and numerous large tree branches and limbs were broken at two farmsteads. Farmsteads were across the road from each other. Time estimated based on radar and nearby wind sensors. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Western | - | A peak wind gust of 67 mph was measured at a personal weather station. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Western | - | Spruce trees uprooted and large ash tree limbs broken in southwest Western Township. Time estimated based on radar. |
| July 2017 | Hail | Western | - | The large hail fell across southern Orwell Township. |
| July 2017 | Hail | Western | - | Quarter to golf ball sized hail and strong winds were reported across southern Aastad Township. |
| July 2015 | Hail | Western | - | The hail fell across northwest Aastad Township. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Western | - | A few large tree branches and tree limbs were broken down in a shelterbelt about one mile west of Squier. Intermittent wind damage was evident across southern Aastad and Western townships. |
| August 2011 | Heavy Rain | Western | - | An observer reported 3.50 inches of rain early in the morning of the 1st. |
| August 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Western | - | This tornado tracked intermittently for about 4 miles, mainly over open fields. However, the tornado did knock down some trees in shelterbelts and left swirls in crops. The tornado and debris cloud was viewed from near Elbow Lake. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph. |
| August 2010 | Funnel Cloud | Western | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Western | - | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Hail | Western | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Western | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Western | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roberts (historical) | 2.1 miles | 9 | |
| Squier | 5.5 miles | 9 | |
| French | 9.4 miles | 10 | |
| River Bluff Estates | 9.8 miles | 11 | |
| Parkdale | 10.6 miles | 9 | |
| Fergus Falls | 10.6 miles | 11 | |
| Lakeview Estates | 12.4 miles | 11 | |
| Dalton | 14.3 miles | 13 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 655006. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






